It’s amazing how far cars have come for comfort. Thirty years ago, a base model economy car had a heater, a rear defroster, and that’s about it. Now though, even a base-model Ford Maverick has automatic climate control, power windows, power locks, the works. Speaking of comfort, in the Northern hemisphere, it’s officially air-con season, and a heatwave blanketing the Great Lakes has given me cause for really appreciating this miracle of engineering. Today on Autopian Asks, I want to know when you think air conditioning is necessary and when you think it’s not.
Earlier today, I needed to pick up a press car, and yep, a line leak has rendered the air-con in my 335i lukewarm until next week, when I have time to get it fixed. This wouldn’t be the end of the world with normal weather, but pulling out of my neighborhood, the reading from the ambient air temperature sensor climbed to 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 Fahrenheit.
Almost immediately after, my iPhone went into heat protection mode, meaning no more Waze. Shortly after that, my Hawaiian shirt started to get a bit damp from sweating out my daily water intake, eventually turning the Dakota leather into something resembling a slip and slide. The Humidex was high, and that 40-minute drive in traffic felt like 40 minutes, you know? I can’t wait to get that air-con line replaced, and that got me thinking about attitudes toward air conditioning.
If a car is dirt-cheap and only used in winter, I reckon non-functioning air conditioning or the lack of a system altogether is no big deal. Sure, it’s not good for keeping the air inside the car dry to mitigate condensation, but when Jack Frost is nipping at your nose, a heater matters more than anything else. Likewise, dedicated race cars don’t normally have any sort of climate control beyond some fresh air guides and maybe a coolsuit, so they get a pass.
Otherwise, I want air-con in everything, especially if it’s driven in the summer. I reckon it’s always worth the cost of keeping it going, but I also know not everyone shares this mentality. Some people don’t like the dryness of air conditioning, some people have the roof down anyway, some people are into stuff like classic British roadsters and although air-con would be neat, the extra weight and drag isn’t really worth it.
So, when is it okay for a car not to have air conditioning, and when does it become a necessity? It’s a different answer for everyone, and we want to hear your answer in the comments below.
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
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My no AC stories.
I had a Ford Countor. The AC compressor seized and for some reason or another the parts were German priced not American priced. It was September and I figured I would shop for a new to me car during the winter. Which I did… 3 years later, when I had enough money to go car shopping. 3 summer sin Ala-fricking-bama with no AC sucked.
I was visiting South Korea. We had a representative that we paid a LOT of money to be the face of the company to major customers. He didn’t spend money on cars. Had an old Sonata with no AC and the windows didn’t roll down. 3 hours in stop and go traffic at mid-day in mid-summer in a black car and we showed up for this important meeting having soaked through our suits. It was insane. We switched representatives when we got back to the States.
I live in the Pacific Northwest, it’s not strictly necessary, but if it’s easily fixable, I always do. I grew up never having it, but a few middle of the summer trips through the middle of the state (110+) have convinced me to never do that shit again.
“So, when is it okay for a car not to have air conditioning”
Winter.
“…and when does it become a necessity?”
Late Spring/Summer.
It’s not when, it’s where.
I was in Maine a couple weeks ago. Highs in the mid-70s. Once it approached 80 degrees and the people were complaining about the heat. I was near the ocean and there was a breeze most of the time too.
Meanwhile, where I live in the Deep South, there are days in mid-winter that are warm enough that I end up running the AC.
Where do you live? Does it get hot over there?
When it’s someone else’s car. A car you will never drive or ride in.
“When Is It Okay For A Car Not To Have Air Conditioning?”
Never. My hot-natured dad-bod cannot handle the stifling heat in hot stop-and-go traffic around here.
Only if the windows roll down.
In the PNW it’s a lot easier, our weather ranges between bone-chilling clamminess and dry heat. So I’m fine with some ventilation, though Dear Spouse will only ride with me if it’s below 65°F.
And it’s a good thing because I’ve got my eye on a targa-top EV from the Time Before A/C.
When Is It Okay For A Car Not To Have Air Conditioning?
Where I live, never. A car is just too expensive a thing to hate being inside of it.
I’ve learned that if a car I operate in the summer doesn’t have A/C, I’ll limit how much I drive that vehicle.
I loved my FB RX7, but I found myself in my daily any time the the ambient temp reached the upper 20 degree range.
Today the mercury is peaking at 33 degrees, with a humidex rating of 42 (108 in eagle units). I chose my w126 Mercedes because I spent a pile of cash last summer overhauling the entire A/C system. it’s super comfortable in traffic.
I also feel that sitting in molten heat stop & go traffic with the windows up on a 40+ year old car is a flex, as most vehicles of that vintage don’t have functioning A/C. Windows up says that not only do you have A/C, it works WELL.
I also never worry about overheating, thanks to the massive aluminum rad I installed last year.
33° in Canada? That’s just wrong and uncivil.
Also, I hope it wasn’t a Liland radiator from RockAuto, I recently had bad luck with one. Check for leaks at the welds either way.
I shopped for a while and picked whatever brand offered the best (fully welded) chinese rads. The factory unit is unobtanium now, so I had to go aftermarket. The 300SDL uses a unique radiator to all other w126s because OF COURSE it does.
And that’s par for the course in summer here. We see upwards of an 80 degree swing between seasonal extremes.
Yes. My former Chevrolet S-10 truck was a fun little runabout and I drove it to work occasionally until the A/C quit. It stayed parked after that.
In the upper Midwest where I live, I can live without A/C in my car – IF – I’m driving with a fully droppable convertible top.
When I park my Miata in the sun with the top up, then slide in and drop the lid, the heat just whooshes out, and with the guaranteed breeze while moving, I’m good to go.
Only sold in more than 50% of cars in Europe in around 1990, but now 90% of cars have it, and those that do not take years to sell.
What is funny too is that in the old days, European air con used to rob 2HP from the car, while US air con, used to rob 4HP at least to cope with huge compressors suitable for hot soup summers in the south.
Now, with global supply chains (think Japanese company Dana had the market cornered for a while), all evened out at around 3HP.
To answer the question though, it is only now acceptable not to have air-conditioning if you are a male do not have a wife / girlfriend.
They are built differently and overheat quicker. Your BMW ride leaves you uncomfortable, if you were a woman it might leave you uncomfortable and physically sick by the time you got to work.
My spouse refused to ride in my Benz until I fixed the A/C. I’ll also admit I drive it a lot more now that I know I’m not suffering just to cruise around in style.
Southeast US here. My first 3 cars all didn’t have good working A/C – weakened with age, pretty much useless after it was in the sun an hour into each day.
I like an HVAC-off + windows-down drive at certain temps, have always had a car with a moonroof, and lower the windows to force the hot air out of the cabin, but will still always have A/C in an everyday ride. Even if I were to live in a less humid/more temperate climate, it’s more valuable to have it. And even if I weren’t as warm-natured and could get away with windows down in the heat here, driving in a rainstorm after a hot day and with high ambient temps aren’t conducive to windows open.
Topless Jeep. Even in Phoenix in the summer. Although it’s best if you have at least enough of a top to provide some shade. I’ve a permanent farmer’s tan from driving my Jeep without AC in Phoenix summers.
I feel like it’s easier to live without A/C in heat when it’s dry.
For example, Phoenix, AZ and Ottawa, ON, Canada are roughly the same temp right now.
Phoenix has a humidity of 4%. Ottawa is currently at 63%. SIXTY-THREE. If you’re thirsty, just cup your hands and swing them around in the air.
A lot of us run A/C not so much for the temp relief, it’s to pull the goddamn humidity out of the air.
Back when I was in high school and college, I worked in restaurants during summers in Phoenix. My Capri had a dealer add-on A/C unit that never worked, so I had to develop a strategy to get me to work around 4 PM in 110 degree heat while not looking like a drowned rat in my black dress pants and white dress shirt. What I did was to get in the car and head first towards a nearby convenience store. I’d go in and buy a drink which at the time was the largest you could get (and which now would only qualify as “minuscule”). I’d fill the cup with all of the ice I could get in it and then add whatever Dr. Pepper would fit. I’d get back in the car, take my shirt off, and then drive to Coco’s while constantly drinking the Dr. Pepper and sucking on the ice. Windows open, of course. That worked pretty well for my 17 year old self, but now that I’m a man of a certain age, there is no freakin’ way I’d drive a car in the summer that didn’t have air conditioning.
My GF’s car has an AC leak so we are refilling the system about once a month. It’s simply not worth it to fix while we wait for that car to die. If it died on my CRV I would fix it in a heartbeat as that’s the road trip rig.
It’s a vicious cycle. The leaking R134 is making it hotter, but you need R134 to keep it cooler.
Any luck with any of the stop-leak type products? I haven’t heard much about them.
Tried the stop leak, didn’t work any longer than just refilling.
After school and in my first real job, I couldn’t yet afford a car with AC. Driving in rush-hour traffic during summer ensured I would arrive at work or home already tired and disheveled. AT least when I got home, I could jump into my apartment building’s pool. Forget long trips, I would often arrive half-deaf, and again tired and uncomfortable. It didn’t help that I was living in a hot and humid climate where most of the summer had air that you could wear. One I got a car with working AC, it was amazing how refreshed I still felt after taking long trips, and driving to work in the morning stank just a little bit less.
Generally, or at least 40 years ago, it was fine until someone hit 30 years old. I will say though on many modern cars it is actually a problem with design, a lot of cars have massive wind buffeting at speed with windows open. so on top of being hot, you are also dealing with your ears being assaulted by pressure waves.
I am part of the old guard these days. I tend to leave the 1968 and 1970 vehicles in the driveway once the temps top 80 in the AM. I suppose I should actually repair the factory AC on the old Scout II though. I would definitely drive it more,
In a humid climate driving in summer and sitting in traffic, AC is a must.
In a dry climate, maybe not so much. I noticed this in LA a few years ago when a bunch of us were going to lunch and all had the windows down. We came to a stop (so no more air movement through the open windows) but I didn’t start sweating immediately even though the temp gauge on the dash was reading 90f.
If we had been in Miami, we would have all immediately become puddles once the car stopped moving, even at 80f.
My Miata’s AC crapped out like a month after I brought it home. It’s fine. I don’t take that car to sit in traffic. AC crapped out in my outback, fine again since that car was generally used for my very short (6 mile) commute and it lives out of direct sunlight in the garage. AC crapped out in the Forester my wife uses for her commute and I needed to get that fixed immediately.
I got my drivers license at the time R12 had been phased out but R134a equipped cars were too expensive. So I endured nearly a decade of Virginia summers without AC.
Luckily I didn’t know at the time that propane is a drop in replacement for R12.
A classic convertible. That’s it. If it’s a classic and it’s a closed car, it needs AC. If it’s a modern convertible, you’ll probably drive it more than a classic and you’ll need AC. Unless you truly live in a place where it doesn’t get very hot.
Exactly. The original owner of my ‘90 Pontiac Sunbird spent well over $1,000 (confirmed via her family on social media) in early 2017 to have the car’s entire air conditioning system rebuilt and fitted with new R134a refrigerant. I’m eternally grateful.
When I had a sunroof, I’d regularly crack it open along with the right rear window to create a little tornado of air inside the car. It felt pretty good most days.
Otherwise, it’s miserable. Windows down means it’s loud AF and still not very cool, especially when not moving. Our spare vehicle (truck) lost its AC compressor years ago and it took me a while to gather the parts to fix the system…I kept ear plugs in it so I could drive with the windows down. Blech.
I never had functioning AC in any vehicle until about 7 years ago. I’ve always had cheap used cars and ‘functioning AC’ was so low on the priority list, especially living in wisconsin.
I live in Raleigh, NC now, and the engine in my daily blew up so my project car received a hasty promotion to daily driver (new water pump, radiator, thermostat, belts, spark plugs, fluids, radio, steering wheel, cluster rebuild, and finally a new top) in the span of two weeks. Said project car (e30 convertible) does not have AC.
Working on the car in the NC heat and realizing I don’t have AC in this car had me ready to throw in the towel and going to buy a newer car just because it would have AC
As a fellow resident of the Raleigh area, I did actually give up when my Leaf was totaled and my off road toy WJ Grand Cherokee without functioning AC became my daily driver. I think I made it like 3 weeks in the summer before the heat broke me and I bought a new car.
I truly dont even think ill make it that far, but budget constraints may force me to suffer for the rest of the summer. Maybe ill just begin biking everywhere.
I can live without AC in the toy car, a 1990 Celica GTS from the old Pro/Celebrity race series. It’s not a daily, I only drive it to shows, probably an autocross later this year, and occasional drives to keep it running.
The GR Corolla and Crosstrek both have AC and need it. At 58 I’m done with not having AC in my dailies.
My late 1960’s/early 70’s Chryslers had little vents down at the kick panels down by my feet. Opening those up and cracking a window led to a jet flow of outside air blasting your entire body when at speed. That was usually enough to get by without working A/C in Michigan, as long as you weren’t stopped too long. But nowadays I won’t drive/own something without A/C.
I think anyone old enough to know about them is wishing they’d bring back the ankle vents.
Another great thing about them is that when you had them open, you could roll down a window without having to experience resonant wind buffeting.
1968 Camaro Astro Vents works fine in this regard, but the first time you blast 100 degree temps up your shorts is the last time you use those on a hot day. On the other side, nothing is quite as amazing as the under steering wheel vent on most Malaise era GM cars. Close all unused vents and get a direct shot of good R12 AC down there on a hot day with vinyl seats was a god send.
My first vehicle as a teen in the 90’s was a Chevy squarebody pickup. No AC of course, but with ankle vents, vent windows, and a rear window slider it was tolerable on the highway. Around town it still sucked.
I have never owned another vehicle without AC since, and I refuse to. I’m keeping my eye open for a square Suburban or K5, and working AC is a requirement.